SpyCast

"The Wright Brothers of the U.S. Drone Warfare Program." That is how some people have referred to this week's guests, Alec Bierbauer and Mark Cooter. Andrew sat down with them to dig into drones and their intelligence implications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This was the most popular episode of 2020. Apparently, people are interested in the views of former GCHQ Director, Joint Intelligence Committee Chair, and first UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator on, well - how spies think. I am sure David – now a Visiting Professor at Kings College, London – has a few thoughts on the subject. Hear Andrew debrief this week’s guest on the insights derived from a career spent at the summit of British intelligence. 1 Book, 2 Glaswegians, 10 Lessons in Intelligence. It’s simple, really. Sláinte! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alexis Albion – star of our 500th episode anniversary special – is a very good friend of the current Undersecretary for Arms Control & International Security, Bonnie Jenkins. Way back when, they were both on the 9/11 Commission Report – while Alexis’ focus was on the CIA and counterterrorism before the attacks, Bonnie’s was on the DOD and counterterrorism – tiny subjects, I know. In this week’s episode, hear two old friends reminisce, reflect, and put the world to rights. Move over Saturn, get out of the way Jupiter, two huge brains are a comin’ through. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spook. Warrior. Author. This week’s guest is one helluva interesting guy. He was in a clandestine Special Forces unit in Berlin during the Cold War, “stay behinds” who would sabotage, subvert and generally wreak havoc should World War III break out. He was badly wounded after driving over a land-mine in Somalia in 1992, almost losing his entire leg and suffering a serious head injury. In a subsequent life, James was a CIA officer in Africa when the US embassies were blown up in Kenya and Tanzania and saw the Agency pivot in the aftermath of 9/11. Oh, did I mention, he also dabbles in combat archaeology.“Hours and hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror.” If this sounds like your last trip down the I-95, listening to your blowhard uncle at Thanksgiving, or what it’s like to watch Jets vs. Giants, it’s purely coincidence – for it’s how this week’s guest characterized Army life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Project Prometheus. In the words of ex-Delta Force author Brad Taylor, “Super Double Daddy Bad Classified.” If you’re looking to find a podcast that helps break down the complexities of Chinese foreign policy through the vehicle of a page-turner written by a NYT Bestselling Author, you’ve arrived at the right doorstep my friend. Brad does serious research. He is also funny, down-to-earth, and super-duper interesting. Por ejemplo, on his first date with his now wife, he told her he was going to join Special Forces and write a novel – after 21 years in the military, including many years in a special mission unit, Brad has now written 15. We talk through American Traitor, Pike Logan, his writing process (and Chinese foreign policy). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I was really good at buying drugs, which is how I got recruited into narcotics. Apparently, I make a really good crackhead.” “Frankly, fact-checking doesn’t matter in today’s world.” Intrigued? You should be. Avril and Lisa are absolutely fascinating! Avril built an intelligence team for the Attorney General’s Office in Pennsylvania, from scratch. Her unit collected strategic intel on narcotics trends and went on to predict the methamphetamine trend before it even hit the Keystone State. Lisa was the Digital Director for Angus King of Maine, a Senator on the Select Committee on Intelligence, the Armed Services Committee, and the Energy & Natural Resources Committee. Hmmmm…do you think those committees might have digital information foreign adversaries might be interested in…Get the full skinny on Avril – CSO for Github - and Lisa – CEO of Alethea Group - in this week’s SpyCast. Because intel is regional too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Post 9/11, special operations and intelligence worked together side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder and hand-in-glove (or any other heavily-hyphenated term you care to mention that connotates BFFness). What will happen with the relationship now, though, and in American history how have these two important components of national security related to each other? Enter the Joint Special Operations University (JSOU), located in Tampa, Florida, and more particularly their President Isaiah “Ike” Wilson, who sits down with Andrew for this week’s episode of #SpyCast. “I think, therefore I am” Nope. “I think, therefore I do” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beijing. New Delhi. Kathmandu. “Hang on, I thought the title said FBI, not CIA?” Well, it did. Kathy Stearman was an FBI Legat who lived and worked in all of those capital cities. “Well, I’ve heard of the Ambassador and the Station Chief, but not the Legat?” Well, that’s why you need to listen to this week’s SpyCast!Kathy Stearman is a retired FBI Special Agent and author of It’s Not About the Gun: Lessons From my Global Career as a Female FBI Agent (I know the title sounds like Lance Armstrong’s It’s Not About the Bike, but Kathy is not a sociopath who will rip your heart out after you invest in her story: I promise). Kathy spent a large part of her career working Chinese counter-intelligence – including time in San Francisco and New York City (I hope the FBI has a generous rent allowance!) – and she speaks fluent Mandarin.BUY THE BOOK FROM OUR ONLINE INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE: HERE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Committee on Public Information (CPI) is the first and only Ministry of Propaganda the United States has ever had. It started one week after the United States entered World War I in April of 1917; in fact, there wasn't even conscription for some weeks, but the Committee on Public Information was created right away. Why? To explore this question, and to learn more about the CPI, Andrew sat down with journalist, professor and Vietnam veteran Jack Hamilton (yes, actually sat down, like face-to-face, eyeball-to-eyeball!). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Doug London is thoughtful and reflective – but he doesn’t pull his punches and he candidly shares his analysis of the contemporary intelligence landscape. In this second part, Doug reflects on the path taken after 9/11, the CIA at the crossroads, and why human intelligence (HUMINT) will remain central to the vast and increasingly technologically sophisticated world of intelligence. Also, hear about a superstar counterintelligence operative Doug is currently running – although there is also a rumor, she might be playing the game for herself – listen to find out more… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices